‘He’s our hero’: Off-duty trooper who found child’s body in Merrimack River meets boy’s family

LAWRENCE, Mass. — The off-duty Massachusetts State Police trooper who found a 4-year-old’s body in the Merrimack River met the child’s family at a final farewell to the boy.

It’s a story you’ll see only on Boston 25 News.

Lieutenant Edward Johnson said he never questioned using his personal time to search for Azriel Lopez after the child fell into the river in Lowell and got swept away.

The 23-year state police veteran, who lives on the banks of the Merrimack River in Methuen, was out on the water 10 out of the 13 days Lopez was missing.

“It’s tough to sleep when you know there is a missing child not far from you,” Lt. Johnson told Boston 25 News Reporter Drew Karedes. “If a child was missing in your neighborhood, you’d be out looking too.”

Lieutenant Johnson showed up again for the family in an unexpected way at the boy’s wake in Lawrence on Wednesday night.

“He’s important. He’s our hero,” said Margarita Burgos, the child’s godmother. “I’ll never forget his face. It means the world. He didn’t have to do it.”

Loved ones recall seeing Lieutenant Johnson scouring the river from a distance day after day.

They said they are eternally grateful to him for giving them closure.

“He’s the one that stopped the agony that we all had,” said Carlos Fontanez, the boy’s uncle. “We’re completely grateful. I can’t imagine how he feels finding the baby.”

Lieutenant Johnson said he does not consider himself a hero and pointed out that many others were also out on the water searching for Lopez.

“I’m not a hero. I’m just a guy with a boat,” he said.

Family members told Boston 25 News Lopez was nonverbal and on the autism spectrum.

They wore t-shirts at his wake that said, “autism is proof that love that doesn’t need words”.

“He was a little lightning buy going everywhere. He was just a hyper, happy, and curious little boy,” added Burgos. “His smile lit up the room.”

Lopez will be laid to rest on Thursday.

His funeral is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Lawrence.

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